Horseshoe



(No Model.)

G. W. RICE. HORSESHOE.

No. 436,803. Patented Sept. 23, 1890.

iTED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

GEORGE IV. RICE, OF DES MOINES, IOVA.

HORSESHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,803, dated September 23, 1890.

Application tiled January 27, 1890. Serial No. 338,237. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE W. RICE, a citizen ot' the United States of America, and a resident of Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented an Improved Horseshoe, of which the Vfollowing is a specification.

I-Ieretofore two mating parts ot a horseshoe have been luhii'iged together at the toe, and frog-supports have been attached to the heel of a shoe; but in no instance have overlapping parts been formed integral with the heel ends of the mating sections of an expansible shoe that has a hinge-joint at the toe, as contemplated by myinvention, which consists in the construction and combination of a frogsupport and an adjustable clamping device with an expansible shoe, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure l is a bottom view of one of my shoes, and Fig. 2 a view taken through the line 00 of Fig. l.

A and B are the mating parts ot a shoe, that may vary in sizeand weight and conguration, as desired. Theyare hinged together at their front ends by means of lap-joints in a common Way;

O is a frog-support that extends inward and toward the toe of the shoe from the rear end of the part A.

D is a lateral extension integral with the rear end of the part B, and overlaps the frogsupport C. It has an elongated depression in its face and a slot extendinglongitudinally in the depression, through Which a set-screw f is extended down into a screw-seat formed in the rear part of the frog-support O. The

it will clamp all the parts together and prevent the heel ends of the shoe from spreading apart or moving toward each other. The head of the screw is countersunk in the Washer, and the serrated under side of the washer engages the serrated'face that surrounds the slot in the elongated depression.

C2 is a mating part of the frog-support, integral with the extension D, and overlaps the part C.

To spread the shoe, I loosen the screw and slide the part D outward between the Washer and the frog-support, and then again fasten the screw. To contract the shoe, a reverse motion of the part D is required. Contracted hoofs can be thus readily spread, and split or enlarged hoofs readily contracted, and the,

frog of the foot always supported and protected by the application and operation of my invention.

I claim as my invention l. A horseshoe composed of two mating sections hinged together at their toe ends, one sectionhaving an integral frog-support eX- tending inward and forward from its heel end and the other section having an integral elongated and slotted inward extension adapted to overlap the frogsupport and to be adjustably clamped fast to the frog-support by means of a set-screw, for the purposes stated. 2. An improved expansible horseshoe and frog-support consisting of the mat-ing parts A and B hinged together, the frog-support C, integral withvthe heel end of one part, the slotted integral extension D at the heel end of the other part, an adjustable Washer, and a set-screw, arranged and combined, substantially as shown and described, to apply and operate in the manner set forth, for the purposes stated.

GEORGE IV. RICE.

Witnesses:`

S. C. SWEET, THOMAS G. OEWIG. 

